Houthis shot down American drone near Yemen
Houthis shot down an American drone in the area near Yemen (photo: wikimedia.org)
A US military Mq-9 drone was shot down near Yemen by Iran-backed militants. It is reported that an unknown missile from an air defense system was used for the strike, according to Reuters.
One of the American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the American General Atomics drone was shot down on Monday near Hodeidah. Another official said that the drone was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile launched from the Hodeidah area.
In November of last year, the Houthis shot down another MQ-9 drone. The Houthi militants said on Monday they had attacked the Rubymar cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden, which was at risk of sinking.
US operation in response to the Houthi attack on ships in the Red Sea
Since November of last year, Houthi attacks on trade ships related to Israel in the Red Sea have continued. In January, the terrorist group launched its most significant attack. The US and UK military repelled an attack in the Red Sea.
In early January, the US and UK launched powerful strikes against Houthi-related targets in Yemen. This was in response to constant Houthi attacks on civilian ships in the Red Sea.
On January 28, it was reported that a Houthi drone in the Red Sea attacked a British military ship, and the next day, the Houthi rebels claimed to have attacked an American destroyer. However, the Pentagon refuted the rebels' claim.
On February 7, Houthis launched 6 anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen towards two commercial ships in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They did not cause damage to the ships, and one of the missiles was intercepted and shot down by US forces.
Two days later, the US military launched a series of strikes against Houthi cruise missiles and surface drones in Yemen.
